WEBVTT - Quieting the Queen: Lynn Eusan

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<v Speaker 1>Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a

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<v Speaker 1>true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and Today's case

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<v Speaker 1>takes us way back to September tenth, nineteen seventy one,

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<v Speaker 1>and centers around a twenty two year old civil rights

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<v Speaker 1>activist and trailblazer. According to some accounts, she accepted a

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<v Speaker 1>ride from a stranger, while other sources suggest she was

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<v Speaker 1>abducted while waiting for a bus on her way to work.

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<v Speaker 2>She also happened to be the first black.

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<v Speaker 1>Homecoming queen at a predominantly white university in the South,

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<v Speaker 1>and her death remains unsolved after more than fifty years.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the story of Lynn u Zan. Lynn Cecilia

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<v Speaker 1>Uzan was born on October eleventh, nineteen forty, in Galveston County, Texas,

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<v Speaker 1>to Ida A. Boudreau Uzanne and Wilbur Thurkield Uzanne, Senior.

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<v Speaker 1>By nineteen sixty eight, Lynn had become one of the

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<v Speaker 1>first black students admitted into the University of Houston or

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<v Speaker 1>U eight. With a bright smile and fierce determination, Lynn

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't just another student, She was a revolutionary. While studying journalism.

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<v Speaker 1>She co founded the African American Studies program at UH

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<v Speaker 1>and helped establish the Shape Community Center in nineteen sixty nine.

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<v Speaker 1>She was also a charter member of Alpha Kappa Alpha

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<v Speaker 1>sorority and even played.

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<v Speaker 2>In the university's marching band.

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<v Speaker 1>But Lynn's activism went well beyond campus activities. She had

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<v Speaker 1>even been arrested a few times for demonstrating all of

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<v Speaker 1>this during the civil rights era. November nineteen sixty eight,

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<v Speaker 1>the University of Houston Astrodome, in a moment that shocked

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<v Speaker 1>the nation, Lynn Yuzan was crowned the first African American

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<v Speaker 1>Homecoming queen at a predominantly white university in the South.

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<v Speaker 1>She beat five white candidates in a victory that sent

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<v Speaker 1>shockwaves through the segregated South. The shock that she was

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<v Speaker 1>actually named it was fantastic, recalled her friend Jean Law,

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<v Speaker 1>who was there that night. The Daily Cougar newspaper called

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<v Speaker 1>her election a symbol representing uh's defiance of the wall

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<v Speaker 1>of prejudice, but not everyone was celebrating. Lynn's crown wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>just a tiara. It was a statement, a declaration that

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<v Speaker 1>change was coming to the AMA in South. She used

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<v Speaker 1>her platform to fight for social justice, leading rap sessions

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<v Speaker 1>and presenting demands to the university president that included things

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<v Speaker 1>like an African American studies program, more black administrators and instructors,

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<v Speaker 1>increased financial aid, and better wages for maintenance workers. There

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<v Speaker 1>were other blacks who felt as I did, and who

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<v Speaker 1>were facing the same problems I was. By organizing into

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<v Speaker 1>a group, we were able to make our problems known.

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<v Speaker 1>Lynn once told The Houston Chronicle her activism made her

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<v Speaker 1>beloved by some and despised by others. September tenth, nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy one, Houston, Texas, it was a rainy day in Lynn,

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<v Speaker 1>now twenty two years old and a recent graduate of

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<v Speaker 1>Uhe was walking to her job when the rain started.

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<v Speaker 1>According to some accounts, a stranger offered her a ride.

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<v Speaker 1>In that split second decision to get out of the rain,

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<v Speaker 1>Lind's fate was sealed.

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<v Speaker 2>However, other reports say she was abducted.

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<v Speaker 1>Nonetheless, whatever happened would leave a family devastated, a community outraged,

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<v Speaker 1>and questions that remain unanswered till this day. On that morning,

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<v Speaker 1>a Houston police car was struck by a nineteen seventy

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<v Speaker 1>one Chevrolet saidan driven by a twenty six year old

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<v Speaker 1>black man named Leo Jackson Junior. When officers approached the vehicle,

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<v Speaker 1>they found Lynn Uzanne in the back seat, stabbed six

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<v Speaker 1>times in fighting for her life. She was rushed to

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<v Speaker 1>the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Jackson claimed that

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<v Speaker 1>the hysterical Linn had attacked him and stabbed herself, and

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<v Speaker 1>that he was rushing her to the hospital when he

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<v Speaker 1>crashed into the police car. However, the evidence told a

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<v Speaker 1>different story. The medical examiner's report was damning. Lynn had

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<v Speaker 1>been stabbed multiple times in the back, wounds that could

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<v Speaker 1>not have possibly been self inflicted. In Leo Jackson Junior

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't just a good samaritan trying to help. He had

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<v Speaker 1>a lengthy criminal record, with fourteen prior arrests for sexual

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<v Speaker 1>and other forms of assault and armed robbery. The evidence

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<v Speaker 1>became overwhelming. The case seemed open and shut, But in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventy two, after a trial that shocked the community,

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<v Speaker 1>a jury acquitted ly A Jackson Junior of murder. How

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<v Speaker 1>does a man with all of those arrests get acquitted

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<v Speaker 1>of murdering a civil rights leader when the evidence clearly

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<v Speaker 1>showed she was stabbed in the back. Lynn's friends and

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<v Speaker 1>family were devastated. Her close friend Jeanne had said, it

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<v Speaker 1>was a shock. It still is a shock when the

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<v Speaker 1>word came back. We were just in total disbelief, tragic,

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<v Speaker 1>very sad. Many in the community believe that racism played

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<v Speaker 1>a role in the verdict. Here was a young black

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<v Speaker 1>woman who had dared to break barriers, to challenge the

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<v Speaker 1>status quo, and to wear a crown that some felt

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<v Speaker 1>she didn't deserve. After the acquittal, no one else was

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<v Speaker 1>ever charged in connection with Lynn Muzanne's death. The case

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<v Speaker 1>remains officially unsolved, a cold case that has haunted Houston

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<v Speaker 1>for more than five decades. Lynn's death certificate simply states

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<v Speaker 1>she was stabbed in the back. Her niece, Andrea Uzanne,

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<v Speaker 1>says the family has never gotten closure. Her death left

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<v Speaker 1>an indelible mark, Andrea said, but then so did her life.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen seventy six, five years after her death, the

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<v Speaker 1>University of Houston dedicated Lynn Uzanne Park, a four point

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<v Speaker 1>six acre park in the center of campus where diverse

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<v Speaker 1>groups gather, just as Lynn would have wanted. In twenty eighteen,

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<v Speaker 1>nearly fifty years after she helped create it, the university

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<v Speaker 1>finally approved a bachelor's degree in African American studies, the

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<v Speaker 1>program that l fought to establish. Lynn Uzanne was so

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<v Speaker 1>much more than just a homecoming queen. She was a journalist, activist, advocate, organizer,

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<v Speaker 1>and a trailblazer who helped change the face of higher

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<v Speaker 1>education in the South. She wanted to bring social justice

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<v Speaker 1>not just to the UH campus, but to the surrounding

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<v Speaker 1>communities and beyond. Today, more than fifty years later, Lynn

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<v Speaker 1>Yuzan's murder remains unsolved. The Houston Police Department lists her

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<v Speaker 1>case as legally open, though no active investigation is currently

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<v Speaker 1>under way. However, in twenty thirteen, Leo Jackson, the man

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<v Speaker 1>who was acquitit of her murder, had passed away, taking

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<v Speaker 1>away any secrets he might have had along with him.

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<v Speaker 1>Lynn's case leaves a list of haunting questions. Was she

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<v Speaker 1>targeted because of her activism her crown, did her pioneering

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<v Speaker 1>spirit make her enemies?

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<v Speaker 2>And will her family ever truly get the justice they deserve.

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<v Speaker 1>One thing is for sure, lynn Uzanne wrote down walls

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<v Speaker 1>and open doors that can never be closed again. Her

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<v Speaker 1>death remains unsolved, but her impact is undeniable. My thoughts

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<v Speaker 1>and prayers are with the family of lynn Uzanne anyone

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<v Speaker 1>with information about her case to contact the Houston Police Department.

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<v Speaker 1>Their contact information can be found in the description box below.

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<v Speaker 1>As we close out this episode, don't forget to collect

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<v Speaker 1>the follow button to stay updated on this case and

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<v Speaker 1>others like it. Be sure to subscribe to Hunting for

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<v Speaker 1>for more true crime updates. Thank you so much for

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<v Speaker 1>joining us.

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<v Speaker 2>On another episode. Until next time.

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<v Speaker 1>Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network,

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